Heart of Darkness
by fulofhyperness
Summary: Six strangers wake up in a warehouse and are told they must kill one of the others to survive.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello hyper readers. Here is my first attempt at a thriller! Who knows what kind of thrills are lurking in this story - maybe none at all! We'll have to see as we go through this! I hope you have as much fun reading this as I have while doing the research!**

**A big thanks to my beta Anari Cross!**

"What are worthless and wicked people like? They are constant liars, signaling their deceit with a wink of the eye, a nudge of the foot, or the wiggle of fingers. Their perverted hearts plot evil, and they constantly stir up trouble. But they will be destroyed suddenly, broken in an instant beyond all hope of healing." Provebs 6:12-15

'Ugg. Why is my head pounding so bad?' I thought as I opened my eyes. My vision was obscured for a moment by the blinding lights in the room. I blinked a few times, and soon the room came into view. 'Where the hell am I?'

"Ah, looks like Sleeping Beauty is finally awake." Came a voice to my right. I looked over to find a man with jet-black hair and deep onyx eyes. His skin was a beautiful pale and his features were sharp. All-in-all, he was a fairly attractive man…and he looked familiar.

"My name is Sasuke." He said. Oh yes, how could I forget? Sasuke Uchiha, one of the most famous male-models in the world. "And this," Sasuke pointed to a frightened looking woman with bubblegum-pink hair desperately clutching his arm, "is Sakura. She's my agent."

Her green eyes flashed at me. "W-who are you?"

I looked up. "My name is Shikamaru."

"Do you know where we are?" asked a timid voice to my left.

I looked around. On the adjacent wall was what appeared to be a large garage door. There, sitting as far from everyone else as possible, was a beautiful blonde man. He was crouched with his knees drawn up, hiding his face.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that." I said.

Blue eyes peeked out from the knees. "I asked if you know where we are." He reiterated

"Some kind of warehouse by the looks of it. Other than that, I have no idea." I responded. "What's your name?"

More of the beautiful face emerged. "N-naruto."

I smiled at him in what I hoped was a comforting manner. "It's nice to meet you, I do, however, wish it was under better circumstances."

Looking along the wall I was sitting against, I noticed two others. Closest to me was a man with short black hair and deathly white skin. Further along was a woman with long brown hair and dark eyes.

Just as I opened my mouth to asked for their names, the lights in the room went out. A scream was heard from my right. I assumed it was Sakura.

A light appeared on the far wall in a large rectangle, and soon a face followed. It was a video.

The man in the video wore a mask that was solid white, with three black holes; two for the eyes, and one for the mouth. Perched on top of his head was a fedora, covering his hair.

A deep voice filled our ears.

"Welcome to my little game. The goal is simple, you must try to survive. Personally, I'd love to see you all die horrible deaths, but that's not entirely up to me."

"Who are you?" I asked the screen.

"You should learn to not speak out of turn Shikamaru." the man responded coolly. Well, that confirmed my suspicion that it was a life feed and not a recording.

"Now, there is one way to survive this. You must _kill_ on of the others in this room. I don't care who or how you decided – but, if you do make it out of here, I want you all to leave with the knowledge of the darkness that lies in each of your hearts…the darkness that I have seen all along."

**Please don't get angry about the bible verse, it really is relevant to the story! I promise! I don't plan on shoving God down your throats, but there will be some religious undertones to this...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, I really hope you're all strapped in for a ride - because this chapter doesn't have one! (ha, tricked you!)**

**Thanks to my beta Anari Cross!**

**Enjoy~!**

"Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming." Colossians 3:6

The man sat back and switched off the video camera. Swiveling the chair to face a table behind him, he took off his mask and hat. He had known that Shikamaru would speak out of turn, but even so, the thought of being interrupted angered him!

He rose and smacked some papers off the table, a growl settling in his throat. "Maggots." he muttered. As he crossed the room, he glared a the pictures he had posted on the wall. "They'll all pay for what they've done. Hopefully, they'll pay with their lives."

The man grabbed a knife off the table and moved towards the pictures. "You," he said, stabbing the knife into one of the snapshots, "will be my greatest prey of all...Naruto."

* * *

><p>"This is insane!" yelled Sakura. "How the hell are we supposed to kill someone?"<p>

"Just calm down." I said, "We need to think this through."

"Oh, and what exactly are we supposed to think about? We're going to die!" Sasuke blurted. "I'm too pretty to die!"

Naruto meeped and hid his face back in his knees.

"Ok, listen, first off, let's get acquainted, shall we? I'll start. I'm Shikamaru Nara, and I'm a mathematician."

Sasuke sighed. "Fine. My name is Sasuke Uchiha, and I'm a male model."

"S-Sakura Haruno. I'm Sasuke's agent." The pinkette said.

I looked to my left. "How about you three?"

The pale man stood. "I'm Sai." That creepy fake smile was still in place. "I'm an artist."

"Alright." I said, glancing over a the brunette.

The woman stood. "Hi, I'm Haku, I'm a student of psychology at the local university…and I'm a guy." He said, obviously aware of his androgynous appearance.

"Oh." I said, embarrassed that I didn't catch that earlier.

"Yeah." He replied, a frown on his face.

I looked over at the blonde, desperate to know more about this timid creature.

The blonde peeked his eyes out from behind his knees. "I'm Naruto. I-I'm an engineer."

"So, we all know each other now, what the hell did that accomplish?" Sasuke whined.

"It's easier to work together and get out of here if we know what everyone's strengths are! Although I doubt you'll be very much help. What's your skill again? Being pretty?" I said, not masking the malice in my voice. We were in a horrible situation, and he just had to sit there and be Mr. Negative.

"Shut up! That's just one quality of the amazingness that is Sasuke Uchiha! I have a lot of skills. But why should we fucking work together? I say every man for himself!"

"You would say something like that. I suppose next you'll say that we should kill someone!"

"Actually yeah. I want to live! I have a career and a life and more fuck buddies than one could ever dream of! So, I'll do pretty much anything to get out of this hell hole and back to that."

"You arrogant prick! You want to murder someone?"

"What?" Sasuke looked seriously confused. "It'll be considered self-defense! It's not like we'll go to jail or anything."

"That's not the point!" God, I just wanted to punch this guy in the face! "Can you really live with yourself knowing you ended someone's life?"

I looked around, hoping for some back-up, when I noticed Naruto had stood at some point. My thoughts were immediately lost at finally seeing the man. His body was godlike! I could hear my inner-self drooling.

I forced my eyes away. "Look around you Uchiha! Who the hell do you think you're going to kill? Who among us deserves to die?"

Sasuke stopped, as if he was actually considering my point. "I don't know." The man's shoulders sagged, defeated.

"So, there will be no killing anyone. Right?" I affirmed.

"Right." Came the resounding reply from the group.

"Good, it's settled. Now, let's try and figure out how to get out of here."

Everyone started to move around the large empty room. The walls were white, the floor was concrete, and there were four doors. One presumably lead to us getting out of here, and was locked. Two of them led to restrooms, both unlocked. And the last one was the large metal garage door, locked.

"Well, that got us nowhere." Came the voice of Mr. Negative, but I was too busy to argue with him. I was looking over the one piece of furniture in the room.

A large circular table sat in the center of the room, it held five small circles spaced evenly around the edge. "What the hell is this?" I wondered aloud.

The others joined me around it. I heard a small shriek and looked up to see Naruto slowly backing away, fear in his blue eyes. "Naruto?"

The man simply shook his head, inching backwards until his back hit the wall.

I moved from around the table and approached him. "Naruto? What's wrong?"

A tan hand lifted so that a single finger pointed back at the table. "I-its…it's an alter."

* * *

><p>"Sir! There have been six people reported missing in the last two hours!" said a random officer.<p>

"What?" Detective Iruka Umino nearly fell out of his chair. Nothing ever happened in their small town!

"Two of the reported include two of our guests. The model Sasuke Uchiha, and his agent Sakura Haruno." A couple days ago, the plane carrying the famous model came down and their group was stranded here. Needless to say that having him go missing was horrible news for their town.

"Oh God…" Iruka said, his eyes wide.

Another officer came in. "Sir, this was left in one of the homes."

The head detective looked over and saw a video in the man's hands. He grabbed it and moved to the AV room to pop it in.

A man filled the screen, he wore a white mask and a fedora. "Hello detectives, this is the Crimson Shadow, but please, call me Shadow. I just wanted to let you all know that I have kidnapped six people, and not all of them will be returned alive; if any that is."

Iruka gasped.

"They are in the middle of playing my little game – a game of truth and a game of darkness. In the end, they will either learn that they are all sinners, or they will die." The video cut out.

"Call the FBI. He's back."

**Thanks to my supporters!**

**Midoriii**

**Pinkyni21**

**Chu545**

**Tenno-Megumi  
><strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**A big thanks to my beta Anari Cross!**

**Enjoy~!**

"What exactly do you mean by an altar?" Sakura asked, rounding on the blonde.

Naruto just shook his head and slid down the wall, curling back up. "No. No. No no no no!" The blonde had his hands on either side of his head, shaking it back and forth as if trying to rid himself of some bad thought. "No more!"

"Naruto?" Haku's voice seemed to cut through the quiet.

Blue eyes were wide as he lifted his head.

"What the hell was that?" Sakura scoffed. "What are you, some kind of retard or something?"

The blonde just hid his face back in his knees.

"Yup, he's a retard. Great." Sakura said, walking back to where she was sitting before.

"Sakura, just shut up, you're not helping." Sasuke hissed.

"But Sasuke-"

"Just be quiet! God, you're so annoying!"

I just sat and watched in amazement at they bickered. Not ten minutes ago, I could've sworn they were together…

"Why won't you love me Sasuke?"

Oh dear God, here it comes. The whiny fangirl. Just what we need in here.

"Jesus woman, get it through your head! I'm gay!" Sasuke said, waving his arms around. Apparently he forgot the rest of us were here, because he turned around, and flushed a deep shade of red. "I suppose you all heard that. If we make it out of here alive, that stays between us."

"Yeah sure." I laughed. I looked back at Naruto. "I hope he's ok."

"That's really the least of our worries at the moment." Sasuke said. "Or did you forget that we have been kidnapped and are going to die?"

Sai moved to the table. "An altar? I wonder what kind?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I've read about altars. There are several different religions that use them, and for different purposes. So, I just wish I knew what type it was." Sai explained as he tentatively touched one of the small circles.

Haku walked over. "So, what are we going to do now?" he asked, looking over at me.

"Why are you asking me?" I asked.

"Well, you seem to be the most natural leader."

I sighed. "How troublesome." I looked around the room. "Well, it looks like he didn't take any of the stuff we had on our person when we got thrown in here. Let's put out stuff on the table and see what we have for supplies."

Everyone, except Naruto, gathered and emptied their pockets, as well as Sakura's purse.

"Looks like a handful of make-up, five cell phones with no service, $130 in cash, a few credit cards, a hand mirror, four pens, and a small pad of paper." I said, taking an inventory.

"What are we supposed to do with this?" Sakura asked.

"We're supposed to die." said Naruto, still crouched against the wall. "He's going to sacrifice us on the alter."

* * *

><p>The door to the precinct banged open, making Iruka start. The detective turned around to see a man in a black suit walk in. He had silver hair and wore a mask; there was also a scar down his left eye. "Where is Detective Umino?" he asked.<p>

Iruka stood. "I'm Detective Umino, but you can just call me Iruka." he said, shaking the other's hand.

"Special Agent Kakashi Hatake of the FBI, it's nice to meet you." he said. "I'm here for the 'Crimson Shadow' case."

"Oh, of course!" Iruka exclaimed. He'd never been in the presence of a real FBI agent before.

"Where is the video?"

Iruka led the agent over to the AV room and played the video. Kakashi simply scratched his chin and hummed. "Do you have files on the missing people yet?"

"Well, we know who they all are, but we have yet to finish the files. We don't exactly have a lot of resources." Iruka explained, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"I see." Kakashi said, secretly grinning under his mask. "Can I see what you have so far?"

"Of course!" Iruka led the man to a large conference room that had six pictures of young people on the walls. "These are the victims. Their names are on the pictures and their files on the table."

Kakashi walked into the room and looked around. Iruka watched as the agent stopped in front of each photo, as if soaking it all in - until he came to Naruto's. That photo seemed to give him pause. "Who is this?"

"That's Naruto Uzumaki." Iruka replied.

"Yes I can see the name on the photo, but _who_ is he?"

"Well, he's an engineer. He moved to our town about three months ago after finishing college to work on our bridge. You see, our little island town relies on that bridge, and it's falling apart."

Kakashi simply nodded his head as Iruka spoke. "Three months you say?"

"You don't think he has something to do with this, do you? He's such a sweet boy."

"No of course not. I do, however, believe that this man was the main target." Kakashi said, tracing a finger along the edge of Naruto's face.

"What do you mean 'main target'?"

"Well, in all his videos, the Crimsion Shadow has always eluded that there was one man that he would get - the man that ruined his life. And, I'm not sure why, but I get the feeling this 'Naruto' is that man."

* * *

><p>"No one is getting sacrificed." I said, in a hopefully convincing mannor. Personally, I had no idea if anyone would get sacrificed in the end.<p>

"And how do you know?" Sakura accused. "What if he gets bored of waiting and comes in here to sacrifice us, hmmmm?"

"Well, we'll just have to escape quickly then, won't we." Sasuke was right, she really was annoying.

"How the hell do you expect us to get out of here?" Sasuke yelled.

I just sighed and moved back over to a corner. I sat back on my legs, crouched down, and folded my hands in front of me - it was my favorite way to think. The idea hit me like a ton of bricks.

I stood up and moved over to the locked door to examine the lock. "Does anyone know how to pick a lock?" I asked, not looking away from the door.

Sai walked up beside me. "I do." God that smile was creepy; and how can he smile in a situation like this?

"Good. What tools will you need?" I asked him.

"Well," Sai tapped his chin, " I will need two thin instruments. A paperclip or a hairpin would work."

"I've got a hair pin!" Sakura said, pulling out one from her hair.

"Alright, do we have anything else?" I asked the group. No one answered. I sighed. 'What a drag.'

I got up and moved to the table where we had set our stuff. After examining one of the pens, I slowly took it apart, taking the ink well in my hand. "Will this work?" I asked Sai.

"That should be perfect!" Sai took the hairpin and the ink well and started to work on the lock with intense precision.

Suddenly, the pin snapped. "It's no use. The lock has been plugged; you'd have to open it from the other side."

"Well, it was worth a shot." I said.

Suddenly, the lights went out again. The masked man filled the far wall once again.

"Tsk tsk. You tried to escape without killing someone! For that, there shall be a penalty."

A scream came from Sakura who was in the back left corner; but her yell was silenced with a strange gurgaling sound.

As the lights came back on, we all looked over. Sakura's throat had been expertly sliced - cut through both the jugular vein and her coroted artery.

"Oh God." whispered Sasuke.

Blood covered the pinkette's body and the surrounding walls. She was slumped with her back in the corner; her legs and arms turned in odd angles. A grusome sight to behold.

I turned to see how this affected the most timid of us. Naruto's blue eyes were wide, his mouth agape, as he stared at the bloody form; but the fear that I expected to come back to him seemed to be absent.

Sasuke walked over to the body and nudged her with his foot. "Yeah, I'd say she's dead."

The lights went back out and the video reappeared. "That does not count as your dead body." he said. The video was gone as suddenly as it appeared.

**Well, this story is not coming out as easily as I hoped it would...*sigh* oh well, I try to work extra hard!**

**Thanks to my supporters!**

**Midoriii**

**Pinkyni21**

**Chu545**

**Tenno-Megumi**

**Scarecrow666**

**Xkarra of the sandX**

**dimonyo-anghel**


	4. Chapter 4

**Oh wow…did I do a disclaimer in the first chapter? whoops! Well, here it goes (and this is effective for all chapters): NARUTO AND ALL IT'S CHARACTERS BELONG TO MASASHI KISIMOTO: PLEASE SUPPORT THE OFFICIAL RELEASE!**

**Let's give a big hand to my beta Anari Cross!**

**Enjoy~!**

"Well, look at that! We try to leave without killing someone, and that bastard on the screen snuck in here and killed one of us!" Sasuke yelled. "Did anyone hear him come in or anything?"

The rest of the group just shook their heads.

"This is just great." he said, moving to sit against a wall.

"You don't seem that broken up about losing your agent Sasuke." Haku pointed out.

"Yeah, well, she was an annoying bitch. I hated her to be honest."

I raised an eyebrow. "You really hated her that much that you don't care about her death? Wow, you're colder than I thought you were."

"S-she's really dead." All eyes snapped to Naruto. The blonde was taking small, tentative steps towards the body. "There's so much blood."

He knelt in front of her, and just stared for awhile. I saw his eyes follow a drop of blood from her neck to the floor.

"Are you ok Naruto?" I asked.

Sasuke stood up and moved towards the blonde. "Come on man, leave it be. There's nothing that can be done." He placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, and instantly the man began to violently shake.

Sasuke took several steps back as Naruto shook and fell to the floor. "W-what's going on?" he asked.

"It looks like he's seizing." Sai announced, his smile actually breaking for once.

Naruto's eyes rolled back and his body shook even more. Suddenly, it all stopped, and Naruto's body went limp.

Sasuke took a tentative step forward. "Naruto?"

Blue eyes snapped open. "What happened?" he asked slowly.

"Y-you had a seizure." I said, moving towards him as well.

Sasuke knelt down and helped Naruto sit up. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine! Never better actually." Naruto stood, and wobbled a bit. Sasuke reached out a hand to steady him. "Thanks." he mumbled.

"You seem a bit more talkative now." Haku said, his eyebrow raised.

"Well, my brain did just kind of reset." Naruto replied, waving a hand dismissively.

Sai walked over to him, standing a bit too close, and poked the blonde in the cheek. "I've been meaning to ask you. What are these marks?"

Oh yeah. I was wondering about those too. Naruto had three perfectly straight, parallel lines across each cheek. They almost looked like whiskers.

Naruto touched his face, and his eyes darkened. He moved around Sai and sat down near the alter, tracing the lines with a finger. I almost thought he wasn't going to answer. "These…" he started. "These are scars I've had for years."

"How did you get scars like that?" Sasuke asked. "They seem to be perfect."

Naruto cringed, as if the marks were fresh. "Yeah, they are perfect. One of my mothers gave them to me."

"What do you mean, _one_ of your mothers?" Sasuke asked.

"I've been in the foster system since I was born." Naruto answered, no emotion in his voice. The dead tone did not suit him.

"Me too." Sai said, sitting down next to the blonde.

Naruto cast a sideways glance at the pale man. "Oh really."

"Yeah, I have no idea what happened to my parents."

"My birth parents died."

* * *

><p>Shadow moved around the small room. He just couldn't find that stupid notebook! That notebook held every detail of his plans, including the order they would all die, and how he would do it! It had his speeches, and all of the information on the players. He needed that stupid thing.<p>

An idea hit him. He ran over to the bed and lifted the mattress. There nestled between the box spring and the dust ruffle was his notebook. "Thank God." he muttered. He moved back to the chair that sat in front of the video camera and flipped to the page that he needed.

Turning on the camera, he settled himself in.

* * *

><p>The lights went out around us. "Oh God, not again." Haku whispered.<p>

Our masked captor filled the wall once again. "Well, well, well. You haven't killed anyone. You aren't following my rules! Now, I am becoming very impatient. That stupid woman's death assuaged me for a moment, but you are still so unaware. None of you understand who you are, and I cannot stand liars."

The video turned off, and the lights came back on. No one was hurt.

* * *

><p>Shadow turned off his camera and slumped in his chair. "I can't wait to see their faces. This will be fun."<p>

* * *

><p>I moved around the room, looking all around.<p>

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm just wondering how he is watching us. I mean, there doesn't seem to be any cameras in this room; and yet he knows that we haven't killed anyone, and that we tried to pick the lock." I explained.

"That's true." Naruto interjected. "How the hell is he doing this?"

Haku moved around the room as well, scanning the ceiling. "There doesn't even seem to be a crack in the ceiling or walls that a camera could look through, unknown to us."

"This is ridiculous." Sasuke interjected. "It doesn't matter, does it? None of that changes the fact that we're trapped here!" He stood and moved towards the bathroom.

"Where are you going?" I asked him.

"I have to piss. Is that so wrong?" he said, waving his arms around. "I'm sorry, was I supposed to ask your permission?" He slammed the door.

"Hey, Shikamaru?" I turned around to find Naruto playing with his own hands.

"Yeah?" I tried to use a soft tone. As much as he seemed to gain some courage after his seizure, I didn't want to spook him.

"Why do you think we're here?"

"So that some psycho can force us to play a game." I answered.

"No. I mean, why us? There has to be a reason he chose the six of us, right?" Naruto asked, his blue eyes meeting mine.

"Maybe it's just random." Haku offered, approaching us from my left.

"Nothing is random." I said. It was instinct.

"What do you mean by that?" Haku asked.

"I mean that everything has a pattern, it's just a matter of how hard you look for it. Everything can be predicted with enough data." I explained.

"Ok, so, maybe we should compile some data!" Haku said.

"That is a great idea."

* * *

><p>A loud pounding sounded on the door. "Police! Open up!" called a voice through the door. A young man walked towards the door.<p>

"I'm coming. I'm coming!" he called. Grabbing the handle, he opened the door. "What can I do for you?" he asked.

"Hi, I'm Officer Umino." Iruka flashed his badge.

"And I'm Special Agent Kakashi Hatake." Kakashi also flashed his badge. "Is this the home of Naruto Uzumaki?"

The brunette looked up at them. "Yeah. I'm Kiba Inuzuka, a friend of Naruto's. He's not here right now, but can I help you with something?"

"We know he's not here." Iruka stated.

"May we come in?" Kakashi asked.

"Sure." Kiba moved from the door, letting the two men inside. He followed them to the living room and sat on the couch. "What's going on?"

"Well Mr. Inuzuka-"

"Call me Kiba."

"Kiba, Naruto has gone missing." Iruka explained.

"What? Are you serious?"

"You didn't know?" Kakashi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I just got here a bit ago. I was coming out for a visit and just thought he was at work. I used the key from the doorframe."

"We believe that he was taken with five others by a serial killer that calls himself the Crimson Shadow." Kakashi said carefully.

"Holy shit!" screamed Kiba as he rose from his seat. "Why?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out." said Iruka.

Kakashi took over. "Has Naruto mentioned anyone or anything strange lately."

"All he's been telling me is that some famous person was stranded in the town, and that he hoped to meet him." Kiba said, his hands in his hair. "God, do you know if he's ok?"

"We received a video from the killer, and it was found in the preliminary sweep of this house after Naruto was taken. That's all we know." Iruka explained.

"Wait, the killer was here?" Kiba looked around the room.

"We'd like to take a look around. See if there are any more clues. We'll also need a set of fingerprints and a DNA sample to separate your trace elements from the others." Kakashi was looking down at as small notebook in his hand as he spoke.

"Yeah, sure." Kakashi rose from his seat and moved down a hallway.

"So, Kiba, where were you yesterday?" Iruka asked.

"Uh, I was on the road. I live about a day's drive away, and, like I said before, I was coming to visit Naruto. I left my house around ten am." Kiba said, his brown eyes still wide. "I can't believe this! I mean, you hear about shit like this on the news and in movies, but you never actually expect to happen to people you care about!"

"Thank you Kiba." Iruka stood and moved down the hallway, searching for Kakashi. He found them in what looked like Naruto's bedroom. "Find something?"

Kakashi was bent over the desk; latex gloves on his hands and holding a powder brush. He gently spread powder across the wooden finish. "Not yet."

Iruka decided to crack open his own forensics kit. He pulled on a pair of gloves, snapping the latex in place. He grabbed the jar of powder and went to open it, only to find the lid stuck. Iruka put more pressure into it; more of his strength. Nothing.

Turning it sideways, Iruka put as much strength as he could into it. The lid came loose; and with it, all the powder flew into the air. "Fuck!"

Kakashi whirled around. "What happened?"

"The lid was stuck on the jar, I just spilled it everyone." Iruka waved powder out of his face; it hung in the air.

Kakashi watched the powder as it drifted towards a wall and disappeared, as if it was sucked up. 'What the hell?' Moving forward, he pressed on the wall…and a section gave under his weight.

**Well, what did you think? Please review! I don't know if I can take a second chapter in a row with no reviews!**

**Ideas are always welcome!**

**Thanks to my supporters!**

**Midoriii**

**Pinkyni21**

**Chu545**

**Tenno-Megumi**

**Scarecrow666**

**Xkarra of the sandX**

**dimonyo-anghel**


	5. Chapter 5

**Give a big hand for my beta, Anari Cross!**

**Enjoy~!  
><strong>

All five of us stood around the table. "Alright. We are going to compile some data. If we can find the pattern – why he chose us – maybe we can use it to get the hell out of here." I explained.

"What kind of data?" Sasuke asked.

"Anything and everything. It doesn't matter at this point." I picked up the pad of paper, and one of the pens. I wrote our names, giving each of us a page. "Let's start with birthdays. That's pretty easy. I'll start. I was born on September 22, 1987." I wrote it on my page.

I looked to Naruto. "October 10, 1989."

Sasuke was next. "July 23, 1988."

"November 25, 1986." Sai offered.

Haku was last. "January 9, 1990."

"Alright." I said, writing them all down. "What should we do next?" No one answered. "Ok. Well, Naruto, you said your parents died when you were born? How about we talk about our lives as children? Any objections?"

"This is fucking stupid!" Wow. That was Haku! I mean, I expected that from Sasuke, but not the mild mannered Haku!

"This _was_ your idea Haku." I reminded him.

"Yeah, well, I was wrong." he said. "I really don't want to talk to a bunch of strangers about my parents!"

"I'll start." Sai interrupted.

I snapped my attention to him. "Ok. What would you like to share?"

"Well, I don't remember much about my younger years, but at the age of 8 I was in an orphanage. I was adopted a year later by a psychologist who was doing social experiments with children. I was given the best education and physical training; but I was also kept away from people my own age. I doubt you've noticed, but I'm a bit awkward around others. I've tried to teach myself social interaction, but the practice is much different than the reading." Sai sighed heavily. "Well, that's my story, who's next?"

"How about you, Sasuke?" I asked.

"Ok, fine. When I was seven, my parents were murdered by my brother. I went to live with a creepy friend of our family. That's it." he huffed. "How about blondie here?" Sasuke motioned towards Naruto.

Naruto simply squeaked.

"Oh come on Naru!" Sai egged. "Let's hear your story!"

"Uh, well." He started. "My parents died shortly after I was born and I went to live in an orphanage. I was adopted the first time when I was five. She was a single lady with very low self-esteem. She liked to tell me that the only reason she took me in was for the tax breaks. She ended up killing herself after two years by running into my room and slitting her wrists; she said she did it because I was annoying."

I put my hand over my mouth. "Naruto, that's horrible!"

"The second time I was adopted, I was seven. It was an older man, he died of a heart attack about six months later. A year later, I was adopted by a man who's wife had recently left him after their son had died. He used to rape me several times a week. I was there for a little over a year." He took a pause, collecting himself; it was obvious this was difficult. "Then, when I was ten, I was adopted by a single woman. She was the only one I called 'Mommy.' She was actually pretty nice to me, but she was murdered a month later. I never got adopted again after that. I emancipated myself at sixteen and worked my way through college. And now, I'm here."

I reached over to put a hand on Naruto's shoulder; he was so adorable, but had been through so much. I was interrupted by the arm draped around him – Sasuke's arm. I glared at the raven.

"I'm sorry that happened to you Naru." he whispered. "Don't worry, we'll get out of this."

"What about Sakura." I asked, hoping to interrupt their moment; I wasn't complete aware of the reason, but I just wanted them to stop. "What was her childhood like?"

Sasuke looked at me. "Her birthday was March 28, 1989. She had a pretty ideal childhood. Her parents loved each other, they were upper middle class, she had a good education and a bunch of friends. And she still ended up being a bitch." he said, never moving away from Naruto. "What about you?" he asked, interrupting my writing. "You're ordering us around, but you're pretty quiet."

"Well, let's see." I thought back to my childhood. "I guess nothing really traumatic happened. My mother is just kind of a controlling bitch. My dad always pressured me to study more, I think he wanted me to follow in his footsteps. But other than that, it was pretty average." I looked down at my list. "That just leaves you Haku." I gestured towards the brunette.

Haku sighed. "Do I have to?" he asked.

"Everyone else did." I reasoned.

He sighed once more. "My father was a psychopath and excessively homophobic. As you all can see, I kind of look like a girl, and my father always thought it would lead me to be gay; he decided he couldn't handle having a gay son, so when I was seven, he tried to kill me. My mother protected me, but she ended up getting killed. I ran for my life and made it into the kitchen, grabbed a butcher knife, and stabbed him twelve times. I went to an orphanage after that."

"Wow." Naruto said, his eyes wide. I was also shocked by Haku's story, but I personally didn't understand how Naruto could still be empathetic after his own story.

"Well, are there any links yet?" Sasuke asked, his arm still around the blonde.

"Not that I can see yet." I responded. "I just don't understand why he would pick us as a group."

* * *

><p>Kakashi pushed his way through the wall. "What the hell?" Iruka asked.<p>

"There seems to be a secret room here." the agent said as he moved through the hole in the wall. Inside was actually quite nicely lit. There was a nice looking chair set up in front of a video camera, and Shadow's signature mask and fedora were resting on the seat. To the left was a large desk that was covered in papers. Pictures of the victims lined the walls, a knife settled in the one of Naruto. Kakashi motioned towards the picture. "Looks like I was right about Naruto." he said.

Iruka gasped. "What is this?"

Kakashi picked up one of the papers off the desk.

_Dear FBI Agent,  
>Well, it looks like you found my special hideout. I've been here for about three months watching my favorite prey, Naruto Uzumaki. That man angers me so; don't ask me why, it's more than likely irrational, but that doesn't stop the hatred. You should know that after this game, there will be no more. Naruto will be dead and my reason for doing all of this will be gone.<br>You'll find my mask, but you won't find my DNA on it; it has been cleaned, but you're welcome to have it. I won't be wearing it anymore! If you'd like to read my files, you're welcome to them. I made the videos to show my players ages ago.  
>You're favorite madman,<br>The Crimson Shadow_

"What does he mean he made the videos?" Iruka asked.

"I'm not really sure." Kakashi said, looking through the papers on the desk. "But these files are very thorough."

"Why was the room in Naruto's house?" Iruka asked, moving back out of the hidden room.

"Shadow said he was observing Naruto." Kakashi explained. "And if he's been after the man since he started two years ago, it would make sense." He followed the officer out into the main room to find Kiba.

"Hey," Iruka asked the brunette, "were you aware of a secret room in the wall of the bedroom?"

"A secret room?" Kiba said, his head snapping up.

"Yes. A section of the wall slides open. Apparently the killer had set up shop there." Kakashi said.

"Wait, you mean he was here?" Kiba yelled.

"It looks like he was for about three months." Iruka added.

Kiba collapsed on the couch. "Jesus." He ran a hand through his hair. "Is there anything I can do to help Naruto?"

"Just don't leave town. We may need your help later." With that, Kakashi and Iruka left the home and headed back to the station.

* * *

><p>The lights went out again, and the masked face of The Crimson Shadow filled the far wall. "I'm getting restless." he sighed. "I think someone else needs to die!"<p>

There was a horrible cracking sound, and then a thud.

"Ahh, that's better. I'd hurry up and kill someone soon if I were you!"

The video turned off and the lights came back up. Naruto screamed.

I turned to see Sai lying face down on the floor in a pool of blood. The back of his head had been hit with a hammer. You may be wondering how I know it was a hammer; well, it was still stuck in his head. The flat head smashed through the skull, mangling the soft tissue of the brain inside. The handle stuck out, also covered in blood. Once again, a gruesome sight.

It was official. We were all going to die.

**I really didn't like how the end came out, but hey, whatever...**

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	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks so much, Anari Cross, for being my beta!**

**Enjoy~!**

"Oh my God!" Sasuke yelled. "Oh my fucking God! That's it! I cannot just sit here anymore!"

"Calm down! There has to be a way out of here!" I tried.

"How the hell am I supposed to calm the fuck down? Huh? Two people are dead!" Sasuke yelled, gesturing at the two mutilated bodies.

I looked around. Naruto had moved back to his corner and was rocking on the balls of his feet, eyes wide. Haku was nowhere to be found.

"Listen, we need to think if we are going to make it out of this alive!" I yelled. Although, I still had no idea what to even think about.

"Look. There is no escape. I suggest we look at that little info packet of yours and decide who gets to die." Sasuke said, his voice relatively calm.

"We are NOT killing someone!" I screamed back at him.

"Hey, did you guys know there was a secret door in the bathroom?"

I turned to see Haku walking out of the restroom. "What?"

"I went in there to puke; Sai's body was too much for me when the lights came back. And when I looked over, I noticed a line in the wallpaper. I pushed on it, and it was a door, carved right into the wall!" Haku explained.

"Are you fucking serious?" Sasuke asked, a smile forming on his face. "That's amazing!" He started running for the bathroom. "I'm getting the fuck out of here!"

"WAIT!" I yelled. "We should do this as a group! What if the killer is sitting on the other side of the door? hmmm?"

Sasuke stopped in his tracks. I guess he hadn't thought of that possibility.

I walked over to where Naruto was sitting. "Hey." I said softly. "Come on. We're going to check out the secret door." The blonde just sat there.

Sasuke moved over to us, his signature smirk in place as he grabbed Naruto's hand. "Hey Blondie! Let's get going." Sasuke was really getting on my nerves. Did I have feelings for Naruto? I absentmindedly shook my head; it couldn't be that! We just met!

Naruto didn't shake off Sasuke's hand as the raven pulled him towards the bathroom; I simply glared after them and followed with Haku.

The brunette showed us the secret door; he pushed on a portion of the wall, and it gave under his weight. "See!"

I pushed past him, and looked through the opening. It lead to a very poorly lit hallway. "How troublesome." I muttered. I righted my stance. "Alright, it looks like some sort of hallway. If we stick together, we should be ok. Is everyone ready?"

"Wait. Shouldn't we have some kind of weapon or something?" Haku asked.

"Like what?" Sasuke asked, his hand still connected with Naruto's. "Have you seen any weapons lying around?"

Haku thought for a moment. "The hammer."

Everyone stopped. I had forgotten about the hammer that was still stuck in Sai's skull. "Do we go get it?"

"You want to try and dig that out of Sai's skull, you go ahead." Sasuke upturned his nose at Haku.

Naruto let go of Sasuke's hand. "I'll do it." He walked back out into the man room, set a foot on Sai's back, and gripped the handle, and pulled it out, shaking it to get the brain matter off. He smiled as he turned and joined us in the bathroom. "Who wants it?" He held it out in front of him.

I watched Sasuke puff out his chest. "I'll hold onto it. Don't worry Naruto, I'll protect you!"

I sighed. "Well, are there any more arguments we want to get out of the way before continuing down the path?"

No one made a sound.

"Good." I moved to the opening in the wall. "Then let's go."

* * *

><p>Shadow moved to the edge of his little room, taking his mask and hat off. He pulled out some cleaner and destroyed any DNA evidence that could have been left, and set it on the chair he'd been using for his videos. "Now, all I have to do is go and get my players, and bring them to the warehouse." he sighed to himself. "That shouldn't be too difficult. I am freaking adorable!" He rubbed his hands together and giggled. "This game is going to be the most fun of all." He dropped a note on the desk and left through the makeshift door in the wall.<p>

* * *

><p>Kakashi and Iruka made it back to the precinct. "Agent Hatake," Iruka started, "may I ask you a question?"<p>

"Sure." he mumbled.

"How long have you been working on this case? And how did you know this guy was after Naruto?" Iruka pressed. "I mean, if I had to choose someone, I would've guessed Sasuke! I mean, he is famous after all."

"I've been on this case since it started two years ago." Kakashi started, moving back into the conference room they'd been using as a base of operations. "As for Naruto. Well, serial killers aren't always the most rational thinkers. Naruto's picture has popped up near all the locations of the other 'games'; I just put the pieces together. If he isn't the main victim, then he's more than likely Shadow himself."

"What about the others?" Iruka asked.

"The previous games were…well…I guess you could call them practice for this one. This is the game that Shadow has been waiting his whole life for! The game that will take his prey, Naruto Uzumaki."

"You can't be serious! You mean that everything has been incidental until now?" Iruka just couldn't believe such a claim.

"I'm sure there was a pattern to his victims, but he wanted to make sure all the bugs were out of his game before he took the one he was truly after." Kakashi explained with a dismissive flick of his wrist.

"How do you know so much about this?" Iruka asked. "You seem to know things only Shadow would know."

"I have a degree in psychology. I was put on this case because I'm the only psychoanalyst that also works as a detective. I've been working on it so long, trying to get into this man's brain, that I guess I'm starting to think like him."

"Does that actually happen?"

"Getting in the mind of a serial killer takes a toll on all our sane minds…"

* * *

><p>Shadow left the home of Naruto Uzumaki. 'Naruto will be the last to be claimed.' he thought as he moved through the town. Without his mask, no one suspected a thing. 'Who shall I grab first?'<p>

* * *

><p>I stepped into the hallway, Sasuke and Naruto behind me, Haku behind them.<p>

"Ugg, why is the floor wet?" Sasuke said loudly.

I knelt down to touch the floor, and it was indeed wet! "I have no idea."

"Are hallways in warehouses usually this damp?" Haku called.

"Abandoned ones sometimes are." I mused.

"Great. An abandoned warehouse." Sasuke grunted. "I suspected as much, but somehow knowing just makes things worse."

"Let's just keep going." I commanded, not wanting to listen to Sasuke whine.

We moved down the hall. There were several doors on either side, all locked. All except for one, at the very end. A light glow came from the crack under the door.

"This may be where the killer is." I whispered. The others nodded in understanding as I reached for the handle. "Well, here goes nothing."

I pushed open the door, and we all gasped.

**I know things may have gotten a bit confusing in this chapter...in fact I hoped it did! (that was kind of the point) If you have questions, you're always welcome to ask (now, whether you get an answer depends on the content of the question! XD)**

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**chiichaan**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everyone, Anari Cross is dealing with some family issues. I won't divulge anything, but please, if you're a religious person, pray for him...and if you're not...well...just hope really hard! Thanks!**

**Oh, and since Anari is gone, I'll be going beta-less ~ sorry for any issues!  
><strong>

**Enjoy~!**

Shadow pulled the last of the players into the large room, and then walked around, being sure to check that the doors were locked and the camera was in place. He pocketed the video camera's remote and laid down on the floor to wait for them all to awake. This time, he was going to watch up close.

I pushed open the door, and we all gasped.

Inside was another warehouse room, almost identical to the one we were previously in. A video loaded onto one of the walls as the lights dimmed.

"It looks like you all have found the secret hallway. It used to be a service hall for the warehouse workers…you know, before this place was abandoned." The killer said. "Don't worry, I won't kill one of you simply for exploring. But I am starting to get restless once again."

The video clicked off and the lights came back on. I looked around at the others. Naruto's eyes went wide. His body started to violently shake once again, and he collapsed to the ground.

Blue eyes rolled into the back of Naruto's skull, and his teeth chattered.

"He's seizing again!" I called. I walked over to hold his head to the side so he could breathe.

After five long minutes, the shaking stopped, and Naruto came back around, blood dripping out of his mouth. He lifted a hand to his mouth. "Shit. I bit my tongue." he said as he pulled it back to examine the blood. "I hate it when that happens!"

"Are you ok?" I asked. "That's your second Grand Mal seizure since we've been here!"

"Yeah. I must have skipped a dosage of my medication yesterday! Don't worry too much, ok?" he answered as he got up off the floor.

Sasuke walked over from where he was hiding. "Naruto! I was worried about you!"

I glared at the man. I knew he didn't care one bit, he was attracted to Naruto and wanted in his pants; you could see it in his eyes.

Sasuke wrapped his arms around the blonde. "I'm glad you're ok now."

Naruto pulled the arms off of him. "Thanks Sasuke." he said, moving away from the man. He looked over at me. "So, now what?"

"Maybe we should look to see if there are anymore secret passageways in this room." I offered.

"That's a great idea, but we should do it quietly. We don't want that madman to think we're trying to escape again!" Haku agreed.

We all started to methodically move around the room, searching every wall for any trace of a secret door.

I moved into one of the restrooms. I thought that since the entrance to the other one was in the bathroom, why not this one? Just as my hand connected with the far wall, I heard a yell. I ran out into the room to see the lights had gone back off, and a video was on the wall.

"Tsk tsk. You tried to escape without killing someone! For that, there shall be a penalty."

"Hey, haven't we seen this one before?" I asked, confused as to why the killer would recycle his lines.

When the lights came back on, I looked around to see who the victim was this time.

A body laid on the floor in the middle of the room. The face was obscured. The hammer that had been used on Sai had been plunged through the eye of the body. As I moved closer, the identity became clear. "Sasuke."

* * *

><p>"We should take a look at the sights that the others were taken from." Kakashi announced.<p>

Iruka slowly lifted his head from the table he'd been laying on. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." He lifted himself from the chair and moved to the whiteboard on the far wall. A large map of the town had been stretched across it. He pulled out a marker and started marking locations and writing names. "This is where they were all taken from." he announced, labeling Naruto's last.

Kakashi glanced around the map. "Alright." he pointed to one of the random locations. "We'll start here."

* * *

><p>Naruto sat down next to Sasuke's body, being sure to not step in the large puddle of blood around the raven's head. He dipped in one finger, and rolled it between his forefinger and thumb.<p>

"What are you doing?" asked Haku, a horrified look on his face.

Naruto looked up at him. "What do you mean?"

"You're…._playing_ with Sasuke's blood!" Haku accused. "That's disgusting!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the brunette. "I'm not playing with it." he said. "I'm examining it. There is a difference."

"And _why_ do you feel the need to do that?" Haku asked, his arms crossed.

"I guess none of this actually feels real! I needed something to be sure this wasn't just some sick dream or something." Naruto explained, looking back at Sasuke's mangled face.

"You have crazy dreams like this often?" Apparently Haku's psychology training was kicking in.

"You'd be surprised." replied Naruto as he stared down at the floor.

I walked over to them. "Well, with most of your guy's pasts, it's reasonable to have nightmares."

Haku shrugged. "I guess." He moved into the bathroom. "I guess it doesn't matter at this point, we just need to find a way out, or soon, we'll all be dead. I really don't feel like dying today."

I followed him in. "I was in here when the video started. It makes me think there's something important here." I moved my hands along the walls. Sure enough, there was another trick wall.

I pushed it open, Haku peering over my shoulder. This one led to a stairwell that moved downward into blackness. "I really don't like the feel of this one."

"Have you liked the feel of any of this?" Haku grunted, pushing past me. "Let's just go. At this point, it's go down there and possibly die, or stay here and die for sure. Personally, I'd much rather go out fighting." He stepped down onto the stairs.

"Wait! I have to go and get Naruto." I turned and ran out of the bathroom to find Naruto still sitting next to Sasuke's dead body. The look on his face was truly disturbing; as if Naruto wasn't bothered by it. "Naruto. We found a stairwell. Let's go."

He looked up at me, his blue eyes dead. "Do we have to? I mean, we're all going to die. Why fight it?"

I reached out a hand to the blonde. "Because there is the possibility we will survive, and if we're going to do that, we have to continue on. We have to keep going."

Naruto's hand found mine, and he pulled himself up. "Ok. Let's go."

* * *

><p>Kakashi and Iruka moved back into the precinct. The trips to the kidnapping locations were extremely uneventful. Each place had been undisturbed. There had been no sign of a struggle except for a picture of each victim with a note on the back reading, 'I have them now. The Crimson Shadow'.<p>

Kakashi moved into their conference room, pulled out a chair, and chucked it across the room. "AHH!" he yelled.

Iruka had ducked just in time to watch the seat soar over his head. "What the hell?"

"I'm sorry Iruka, it's just that, I've been on this case for two years and I'm no closer to catching this fucker!" Kakashi sank to the floor. "This is getting to the point where I should know _something_! But no, I have nothing, and every death that happens in that building is my fault."

Iruka tentatively walked over to the man. "Kakashi, it's not your fault. This guy is really good. As amazing as you are at your job, this guy's head is fucked up to a point that is unfathomable; you can't beat yourself up over that!"

The agent sighed. "Yeah. I still feel like I should know _something_." Kakashi ran an exasperated hand through his hair.

Iruka knelt down and placed a hand on Kakashi's shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll catch this guy. I promise."

* * *

><p>We moved down the stairs as a single unit, the darkness enveloping us, unnerving me. Suddenly, I ran into something. "Ow." I grunted.<p>

"What was that?" Haku asked.

"I think it's a door." I responded as I groped around for a handle.

"Really? Get it open!"

"What the hell do you think I'm trying to do? You find the fucking handle in the dark." I hissed, not wanting to be too loud in case there was someone on the other side. My hand finally connected with the long medal handle. I grasped it. "I found it. Is everyone ready?"

I heard grunts of agreement, so I turned the handle slowly, and pushed the door open a crack and peered inside. The room was lit by a couple hundred candles, and in the center of the room stood a table.

I opened the door more, and moved inside.

A scream sounded from the doorway and I whipped around. Naruto had sunken to the floor, his face pale.

I turned back around and noticed that the table was almost identical to the one in the first room. It was another alter. The only difference was a large white pentagram was painted across the center, the points lining up with the round depressions around the edge. Unlit candles were set in the depressions. Blood stained the table in dark patches.

I moved over to Naruto. He looked about ready to pass out. "Naruto! Snap out of it!" I grabbed his shoulders and gently shook him.

His face almost seemed to get paler. "Naruto!" I called. This was no time for someone to pass out! I called his name one more time. "NARUTO!" but it was too late, he was unconscious.

I dragged him into the room, and closed the door before looking around. I had to admit, this room was creepy. I personally preferred the upstairs room with the dead bodies.

"Hey look! There's a tape here!" Haku called.

I moved over to him, and picked up the video that was sitting in the middle of the alter. "That's odd." I muttered, as I glanced around the room. Where there was a video, there had to be a player. Finally, I spotted it hidden behind a wall of candles.

I pushed the tape into the VCR slot. The killer's masked face popped up on the screen.

"Hello there Shikamaru, Haku, and Naruto. I see you've found my favorite room in the whole warehouse. Naruto, you may find this particularly familiar."

I glanced back at the unconscious blonde, my eyebrow raised.

"However, since you have entered here, that means you are not just exploring, but looking for escape. For that, as we all know by now, comes with a penalty. Congratulations, another of you shall die."

The video turned off.

"Wait, if he left the video tape in this room, how does he know we made it here?" Haku pointed out.

"Who knows? Maybe he's just trying to scare-" The lights went out.

**OH NOES! WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT? I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, the next one is my favorite! Please review~!**

**Thanks to my supporters!**

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**Kyuubi'Rouge5713**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you Anari Cross for being an amazing beta!**

**Enjoy~!**

The lights flickered back on. As I whipped my head around, the first thing I saw was Haku lying on the floor. His neck had been punctured; and the hole went straight through his carotid artery. Blood had sprayed out of the wound, covering the walls. The alter had been speckled with a fresh coat. Haku's eyes were wide open, and one hand was around his own neck, as if he was trying to hold the blood in.

I looked to where I had left the unconscious Naruto. He was gone! Instead, he was crouched in the far corner, blue eyes wide, covered head-to-toe in blood. There was a needle in his hand. "N-naruto?" I called out to him.

His gaze snapped to meet my own. "Look what I did Shikamaru!" he cried, tears streaming down his face. "God, look at this! What is wrong with me? Why can't I control this?"

"What are you talking about?" I understood what he was implying; I just didn't want to believe that the scared innocent man I had met upstairs was actually a ruthless killer.

"It keeps happening! I can't seem to stop it!" He threw the needle onto the floor, and tangled his hands in his hair. "I don't want to hurt people! But _it_ does!" More tears spilled from his eyes.

"What does?" I asked, taking a few hesitant steps towards the man. "What wants to hurt people?"

"_It_ does!" he cried. "_It_ won't let me say no! _It_ says that all the bad people need to pay!"

"But why are we all bad people?" I asked, confused. "Why do we deserve to die?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" he responded, crying even harder. Naruto was breaking down, and it was a sight I found to be more disturbing that the blood-soaked corpse on the floor. "_It_ won't tell me!"

"What is this 'it' you keep talking about?" I grabbed Naruto's wrists, trying to calm him down. He wasn't making much sense.

"Kyuubi."

* * *

><p>"Mommy, what's going on?" A ten-year-old Naruto followed his adoptive mother to the basement of their home.<p>

"We are simply going to cleanse your soul, little one." she replied.

As they reached the bottom of the stairs, the woman pulled a cloak off the hook and tied it around herself; letting the hood hid her face.

"Do I get one of those Mommy?" Naruto asked.

"No sweetie, you don't need one." she said, placing a hand on the boy's cheek lovingly. She grasped the boy's hand and pushed open the door to reveal a dark room lit only by candles. Inside were several more people in cloaks. They stood around a round table in the center of the room. Five unlit candles were spaced evenly around the edge of the table and a pentagram was drawn across it, it's points lining up with the candles.

The mother grabbed the boy under the arms and lifted him to lie on the table.

"Mommy, I'm scared!" he cried. "This room is creepy!"

"Shhh, it's ok little one. I'll take care of you." She said as she patted his cheek.

The group of people converged around Naruto, lining his head, arms and legs up with the candles. Five hands held him in place.

Tears leaked out of blue eyes. "What's going on?"

His mother simply shushed him again and moved so she was at his head. "Light the candles." she commanded.

Five more of the members lit the candles simultaneously.

"Let us begin. We shall call upon our lord, Yog-Sothoth."

The group of people huddled around the table. "N'gai, n'gha'ghaa, bugg-shoggog, y'hah!" They shouted.

Then, the group dropped off, letting Naruto's mother speak alone. "Yog-Sothoth, Yog-Sothoth, aï!"

They joined back in. "Y'hah, bugg-shoggog, n'gha'ghaa, n'gai!"

Naruto began to tremble. "Mommy? Mommy, what's going on? Mommy, I'm scared!"

The woman drew a large knife. "Mommy?"

His mother dropped her hand so it rested on the boy's cheek, near his nose. "It is time for the blood offering." she announced as she dragged the knife across the little boy's face.

Naruto screamed in pain as she continued to cut more lines into his face. Three straight, parallel lines across each cheek. "MOMMY! PLEASE STOP!" he screamed, tears streaming down the sides of his head and into his ears.

"Yog-Sothoth, I hope thou art pleased." she called. "Cleanse this little soul – wash his mind of the perversions of this world."

Naruto tried to call out to his mother once again, to beg her to stop this, but his own sobs silenced him.

"Y'ai'ng'gnah, Yog-Sothoth he'eel-l'geb, f'ai throdog, uaaah!" His mother called.

Suddenly, another member of the group appeared at Naruto's side. This one lifted his shirt up to his neck. Watery blue eyes stared at the man, fear encased Naruto's brain.

The man moved back to a stove, and took a hold of a metal handle sticking out the back. As he withdrew the rod out of the fire, a pattern of super-heated metal appeared at the end.

Moving back to the side of the table, the man climbed some steps so that he could stand above Naruto. He thrust the pattern against Naruto's exposed stomach.

Naruto cried out, unable to understand what was going on. He tried to move away, but the hands on his arms and legs held firm.

The man dismounted the table, taking his place in the back of the group.

His mother spoke once again. "Ogthrod ai'f, geb'l-ee'h Yog-Sothoth, 'ngah'ng ai'y zhro!"

The group released Naruto, extinguished the candles, and moved away from the table. The boy simply sobbed, lying on the table, unable to move from pain.

"It is done." his mother whispered to the others. "Let us leave to allow him to revel in his new soul."

The people in cloaks all left the room, leaving Naruto to sob and lie in his own blood. "Why Mommy?" he croaked out. "Why?"

* * *

><p>The group gathered in the kitchen of the quaint home. "Are you sure this was a good idea? I mean they say using the ritual of Yog-Sothoth when the mind is unwilling could open the body to demons."<p>

"Yeah," another added, "isn't he too young to understand the concept of opening your mind?"

Naruto's mother bit her lip. "I'm sure it will be fine. Naruto's a strong child, he'll be alright."

* * *

><p>Naruto awoke several hours later, still in the dark creepy room on a table. "Why?" he cried. "Why did Mommy hurt me?"<p>

_"Because she is an evil woman."_ a deep voice within the confines of Naruto's mind spoke to the boy.

Blue eyes widened. "W-who's there?"

_"You may call me Kyuubi. I'm your friend, little one. I'm here to help you."_

"Y-you are?"

_"Yes, and your 'Mommy' is evil. She commits heinous acts."_

"Sh-she's evil?" Naruto was frightened.

_"Yes little one. Your 'Mommy' has hurt you, and she cannot be forgiven for this. You must get your revenge."_

"My revenge?"

_"Yes, don't you feel anger for what she has done? You must make her pay; you must make her know not to hurt you again."_

"How do I do that? I don't want to be hurt again."

_"Don't worry, I'll do everything…"_

* * *

><p>The other members of her cult had left hours ago, and now it was time to check on Naruto. She walked down to the basement and cracked open the door. "Naruto?" she called. "Naruto, it's time to wake up."<p>

She moved to the alter table and looked upon the sleeping form of her new son. Although seeing him covered in his own blood horrified her, she knew that it was for the best. She reached her left hand out to gently shake his shoulder, when a hot white pain shot through her right arm. Looking over, she found the knife she used earlier jabbed in her arm, a small tan hand still wrapped around the handle.

Naruto's eyes snapped open, but they weren't blue; they were a frightening glowing red.

The mother screamed. "DEMON!" She moved to get the book of spells from the back of the room, but she was too slow, the possessed form had already lunged for her. Small hands groped at her face, pushing on her eyes until they bled.

"You shall not hurt me anymore." The voice that came out of Naruto's mouth was deep and gravely, almost a growl.

"No sweetie." she pleaded. "Mommy didn't want to hurt you, but she had to cleanse your soul!"

"No! You hurt me; now you will PAY!"

Naruto's hand grabbed the knife that had clattered to the floor and stabbed the woman in the neck; she died slowly as her blood drained around the metal.

* * *

><p>Naruto told his tale, and I simply listened, horrified by the atrocities of the woman he called 'Mommy'. But then, he told me of Kyuubi.<p>

"So, there's a demon inside of you?" I asked. "That doesn't seem real."

Naruto looked up at me. "I know, but I can hear his voice in my head. Sometimes, he takes over my body, and does whatever he wants! Kyuubi is the one behind all of this, and I'm helpless to stop him."

Naruto drew his knees up in front of his chest and buried his face in his arms.

"Naruto." I cooed softly. "You have to fight it. You have to defeat the Kyuubi!"

Slowly, the blonde head lifted, eyes shut.

"Naurto, you can do it! I believe in you!"

His eyes snapped open, but they weren't blue, they were bright red. "Hello Shikamaru. Are you ready to die?"

**Hey, how'd you like that? This chapter is the whole reason I wrote this story! I have been waiting for this moment for a long time! Hours upon hours of research went into this - so, I hope you really enjoyed my little plot twist!**

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**Beauty . Of . Lies  
><strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**Everyone, give a big round of applause to my beta, Anari Cross!**

**Enjoy~!**

"Hello Shikamaru. Are you ready to die?"

I stumbled backwards. "What the hell?"

The red-eyed man slowly stood, and carried himself in a way that was completely opposite of the Naruto I had met. He took two steps and stood before me. "I asked if you were ready to die." That voice. That voice was deep and gravely; just like in the videos.

"No."

The scars on Naruto's cheeks had become more pronounced as he smiled. "No? Well, I guess that's just too bad."

"NARUTO!" I called out to the man inside, hoping to get through. "NARUTO IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, YOU HAVE TO BEAT THIS! DON'T LET THIS MONSTER TAKE CONTROL OF YOU! IT'S _YOUR_ BODY!"

The one Naruto referred to as Kyuubi just laughed. "Ha! Naruto is too weak to do anything about thi-" He suddenly gripped his head, nails digging into his scalp until pinprick of blood leaked out. His eyes started returning to blue.

"You stop this Kyuubi!" called Naruto's voice

"You fucking brat!" Kyuubi's deep voice was such a contrast to that of sweet Naruto. "I'll kill you!"

Kyuubi fell to the floor.

I got up, and hesitantly made my way over. "Naruto?" I whispered.

The man's eyes cracked open; they were blue. "Shika-maru?" he croaked.

My heart sank at the voice, this man really was too pure for his own good. "Hey, you're you again!"

He slowly sat up and rubbed his eye; adorable. "Yeah. I'm sorry about that." Tears streamed down his face once again. "I can't stop Kyuubi! I wish I could!"

"There has got to be some way!" I racked my brain. "You said he came to you after a cult ritual, yes?"

Naruto looked frightened. "Yeah."

"Perhaps there is one that we can use to banish him!"

"NO! I don't want to hurt anymore!" Naruto cried, horrified by the thought.

"Well, then, you'll have to face him. At least get him to tell you how to get out of here so we can do some research and get him out of you!" I pointed out. "I promise, I will help you through this."

Naruto visibly relaxed, but immediately tensed up again. "You mean, go in my own mind and talk to Kyuubi? I don't think I can!"

I gripped his shoulders. "You can do this! I believe in you."

Naruto closed his eyes. "Ok, I'll try."

* * *

><p><em>Naruto POV<em>

I opened my eyes to find myself in the dank dungeon I'd learned to call my mind. "H-hello?" I called out. There seemed to be water on the floor that rose to my ankles and flowed into a three story cell door in front of me.

The door consisted of several metal bars, and at the opening, a piece of paper that read "SEAL" was draped across it. But the paper had been ripped years ago, allowing Kyuubi escape.

Huge glowing red eyes appeared behind the cell door. "Naruto." a deep voice chuckled. "How good of you to come. Are you here for something important, or can I go back to my nap?"

I summoned all the courage I could. "You need to stop killing people!" Yes! I did it without stuttering!

Kyuubi just laughed at me. "Kukukuku, and why should I do that?" he asked. "Who the hell is going to stop me? No one would suspect sweet, innocent Naruto! It's the perfect cover!"

"I'll lock you back in that cage!" I yelled, my voice cracking in fear.

"And how do you expect to do that? You don't know how to redo that seal!"

"That may be," I started, "but if you don't tell me how to get out of the ware house I'll"

"You'll what?" He asked.

This was my big bargaining chip. "I'll kill myself using the knife you stashed in the room. I saw where you put it. If I die, you'll die with me!"

"Damn kid, you've got more balls than I gave you credit for." That damn thing always seemed to be laughing at me. "Ok, I'll let you get out of the warehouse, but I won't guarantee Shikamaru's safety."

"I'll take that deal." I yelled, never once expecting Kyuubi to help me.

* * *

><p>I sat and waited as Naruto meditated. I had no idea what was really going on in his head, but I hoped for the best. Whether it was actually a demon, or some form of dissociative identity disorder, hopefully Naruto could bargain his way out of this hellhole.<p>

Slowly, blue eyes fluttered open. "Kyuubi told me the way." he said with a weak smile.

"Seriously? You can get us out of here?" I asked. "Oh thank God!" Naruto's eyes looked dead. "What's wrong?" I asked him.

He just shook his head. "Nothing. I'm fine." Naruto stood and moved to a far wall, keeping as far from the alter as he could at all times. I watched as he pushed on a random section of wall that crumbled under the pressure to reveal a key.

He grabbed the key out of the compartment. "Alright, we just have to get back to the first room, and we can use this to open the main door." Naruto explained as he handed me the key.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" I yelled as I moved towards the stairs.

Naruto just stood, rooted to the spot, that same weak smile on his face. "Go." he whispered.

I stopped, and turned to look at him. "Aren't you coming?"

"No, I'm not. In fact, once you're safely outside, I want you to lock the door behind you." His gaze dropped to the floor.

I moved to stand directly in front of him. "What? Why?"

"Because Kyuubi agreed to give me the key, but he couldn't guarantee your safety. I don't want to kill you; I don't want to kill anyone anymore!" he said, waving his arms to accentuate his point. "I can't be let out of here, because if I get to leave, so does Kyuubi."

"Naruto, this isn't funny. Now come on." I said, furrowing my eyebrows. His logic was sound, but that didn't mean I was going to leave him here! I gripped his shoulder, trying to get him to come to his senses.

"It's not meant to be funny Shika. You have to lock me in here, maybe go and get the authorities so I can go to prison." His voice sounded weak as he continued to gaze at the floor.

"But, Naru-"

"NO!" he shouted, lifting his face. Tears streamed from his eyes and dripped off his cheeks. "Just stop. I'm not leaving and that's final. Now get your ass out of here before Kyuubi gets up enough power to take over again!"

Slowly, I slid my hand down from his shoulder until it was grasped in his. "Naruto, I can't just leave you here. I can't leave knowing I left you to die."

He sniffed as he looked down at our hands. "Shika…"

It was my turn to cry. "We may not have known each other for very long, but I see something in you that I've never seen before; something incredible." I grabbed his chin and forced him to look at me. "I want to get to know you Naruto. I can't leave anyone to die, but especially not you." I pushed forward, connecting our lips in a chaste kiss.

As I pulled away, I saw a shocked look form on Naruto's face for only a second before he started to bawl. I pulled him close, and wrapped my arms around him. "Naru, everything will be ok. We just have to figure this whole thing out, ok?"

"And what's to stop Kyuubi from killing you while we research, huh?" he said as he pushed away from me. "I can't take that risk!"

"Please, don't make me leave you here." I pleaded.

"There is no other option. Do the research if you must, but you have to leave me here in the meantime." He grabbed my arm and pulled me in for another embrace before immediately pulling away. "Now, go!"

**Alright guys, Anari has started school and his time has been cut to nearly zero, so he will not be able to beta for me any longer! Therefore, I'm in the market for a new one! Please please please PM me (or even put it in a review) if your interested! Thanks so much~!**

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**DominaeAqua**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey everyone! I got a new beta! Thanks to everyone that held an interest in the position and contacted me about it! So, without further adieu, I'd like you all to meet my new beta, Tenno-Megumi! Be sure to head over to her page and read her stories!  
><strong>

**Enjoy~!**

I ran up the stairs, through both of the passages, and finally came to the room we woke up in, the bodies of Sai and Sakura still soaked in blood in their original spots. I sighed heavily as I looked back behind me. "How troublesome. Naruto, I hope you're ok."

I shoved the key in the lock and pushed the door open to find daylight on the other side. I stepped out. It felt like it's been days since I had been out here!

Tentatively I shut the door behind me. I sighed as I shoved the key back in the lock and sealed it, trapping the man I had hoped to one day love inside.

'No, I still hope to. I have to save him!' I pressed my hand against the door. "Don't worry Naruto. I'll come back for you."

* * *

><p>Naruto sat in the basement, staring at the alter in the middle of the room. Fresh bloodstains belonging to Haku were scattered across it, but under those were old ones; stains emanating from three places on the table.<p>

Yes, Naruto recognized this alter. This was the alter from "Mommy's" basement; the alter all this started with. What he didn't know was how the hell Kyuubi had gotten it down here.

For the first time since arriving in the warehouse, Naruto decided to check his pockets. He reached into his left pocket and felt something hard. Curious, he pulled it out; it was a remote! 'What the hell?' He looked around the room. 'What's this for? How long have I held this?'

It had several numbered buttons, as well as one button that looked like a light bulb with lines around it. He clicked the light bulb one, and the lights in the room went out. Blue eyes got wide. 'Whoa, trippy.'

He moved up the stairs, just wanted to get away from the alter and his dried blood. In there, he decided to play with the remote more. Naruto clicked the button marked "1". A video appeared on the screen.

It was the Crimson Shadow, or really, Naruto himself in a mask.

"Welcome to my little game. The goal is simple, you must try to survive. Personally, I'd love to see you all die horrible deaths, but that's not entirely up to me."

There was a pause.

"You should learn to not speak out of turn Shikamaru. Now, there is one way to survive this. You must _kill_ one of the others in this room. I don't care who or how you decide – but, if you do make it out of here, I want you all to leave with the knowledge of the darkness that lies in each of your hearts…the darkness that I have seen all along."

Wow, Kyuubi did think of everything. He even knew Shikamaru would interrupt him! 'Wait, how did he know that would happen?'

_"Because, I have been studying these people for a long time."_ Kyuubi was talking to him again, just like he did when Naruto was young.

Naruto felt anger bubble into his gut at hearing that voice. "But why did they have to die?" he shouted, his voice echoing in the large room. He glanced over at Sasuke's body. "They all seemed like nice people!"

_"So did 'Mommy' if you remember little one." _Kyuubi replied coolly.

"These people were not like her. She was crazy!" Naruto argued.

_"Is that so? She deserved to die because she was crazy?"_

"I didn't want to kill her!"

_"Don't lie to yourself little one, I live in your mind, I can hear your thoughts. I know you wanted her dead, even at the age of 10; same as I know how you felt about that Shikamaru fellow. Clever trick by the way, getting him to lock you in here."_

Naruto smirked. "Thank you. I don't want you to kill him, or anyone."

_"How about I tell you why Shikamaru deserves to die?"_

Blue eyes widened. "He doesn't!"

_"Oh, is that so? He's a sinner Naruto, he needs to be wiped out of this world."_

"Everyone is a sinner! The only one to never sin was Jesus, so whatever sins he may have do not condemn him!"

_"Is that so? Even if he murdered his father?"_

* * *

><p>I ran through the streets of the small down, immediately locating the police station. Busting through the door, I yelled "Help!"<p>

Faces snapped over to me, looks of recognition in their eyes. Someone got up and went into a conference room to the left. A man with a spiky brown ponytail came out, followed by a silver haired man in a black suit.

"Shikamaru Nara?" The silver haired man spoke. "I'm Special Agent Kakashi Hatake. I'm in charge of the Crimson Shadow case." He shook my hand. "Please come in here please."

I followed him into the conference room, and found the pictures of myself, as well as the five other people I had been locked in a room with. "Whoa."

"Mr. Nara-"

"Call me Shikamaru." I truly hated it when people called me 'Mr. Nara' because it reminded me of my father.

"Alright, Shikamaru, I have been tracking this guy down for a couple years now, and you're the first one to survive. Now I have to ask, how did you manage that?" Kakashi asked.

I started to tell them my story, up to the point of Haku's death; there I stopped. 'Do I tell them about Naruto?'

"Well, how did you get out?" Iruka asked.

"I -uh- don't really remember, it was all kind of a blur." I lied.

I watched Kakashi narrow his eyes for only a fraction of a second. "I understand, things like this are traumatic, they can affect your memory." He handed me a card with his name and number on it. "Why don't you go home, get cleaned up, and get some rest. Call if you remember anything new, otherwise, we'll be in touch."

* * *

><p>"W-what? That's not true! You're lying!" Tears ran down Naruto's scared face.<p>

Kyuubi laughed. _"Oh, am I now? You don't actually know this man. You have no idea what he has done."_

"That may be, but he didn't murder his father!" the blonde yelled back.

_"Well, he didn't seem too keen to talk about his past, now did he."_

Naruto sat down on the floor, burying his face in his arms as he drew his legs up to his chest. "No, he didn't."

_"And he didn't seem too appalled when you told him about killing 'Mommy'."_ Kyuubi was determined to break Naruto; to make the young, innocent man's mind shatter so he could permanently take over and have his own body again. This was the whole point of the game; two years of hard work and dead bodies to attain this goal.

Naruto sniffed, gathering his courage, he wouldn't let Kyuubi win. "I'm sure that whatever circumstances that led to Shika killing his father, it was justifiable."

_"HA! Since when is killing ever justifiable? Hmm?"_ Kyuubi couldn't help this side of his personality. Satanic rituals may have to him here, but he followed God. _"It says it in Hebrews, 'do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord'! I am that discipline. I have come here to punish the sinners of the world."_ Kyuubi was growling by this point.

"You're a demon, aren't you? Why the hell are you quoting scripture?" Naruto yelled, hoping for a subject change. Anything would be better than thinking about Shikamaru at this point.

_"Kukukuku. You deny me of my scripture? Do you not believe? 'If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart and give honor to my name says the Lord of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you'" _Kyuubi couldn't believe he had to share the body of such a sinner; it just made him more determined to break this one.

"That doesn't justify your actions!" Naruto gripped his hair as he spoke to the invisible demon. "Isn't murder a sin? Didn't you just say that killing was unjustifiable?"

_"'I have done what is just and right; do not leave me to my oppressions.'"_

**Ok Kyuubi, we get it, you're a religious freak! Enough with the quotes!  
>I suppose I should credit them all...They are as follows:<br>Hebrews 12:5  
>Malachi 2:2 (this is actually my favorite book of the bible! God makes a bunch of people cry by smearing dung on their faces!)<br>Psalm 119:121**

**So yeah...Please review! They fuel me to right more!**

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	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks so much to everyone for being so patient with me, especially my amazing beta Tenno-Megumi!**

**Enjoy~!**

I walked from the police station to my house. I knew I had only been gone a day, but it felt like years. My life had changed forever, and I had just lost the one thing that was going to make it better: Naruto.

There had to be a way to save him, I just knew it; but the question was, how?

I pondered this for a while, when suddenly, the thought hit me. 'Maybe if the occult put him into this mess, the occult would be the way out!' I ran to my computer and started my research.

"What was the name Naruto used?" I thought back to the awful story he told me. "That's right, Yog-Sothoth!" I typed the name into the search bar; not much came up. "Alright, next stop, the library!"

* * *

><p>Naruto laid on the floor in the second room of the warehouse. He didn't know what to do anymore; it would only be a matter of days before he died of dehydration.<p>

_"Come on Naruto, we have to figure a way out of here!"_ growled Kyuubi. _"I'm not dying here!"_

"This is your doing!" Naruto responded quietly. "If you didn't go around killing everyone, I wouldn't have to lock us in here!"

_"Of course I had to kill those people!" _Kyuubi reasoned. _"Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, and they would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way and have their fill of their own devices. For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them. Proverbs 1:29-32!"_

"What does that even mean Kyuubi? I'm getting fucking sick of you quoting scripture!"

_"It means that they all had their chances to learn the ways of the Lord, to give up their lives of sin, but instead they denied Him and sinned in the worst ways."_ Kyuubi's voice was back to a bitter growl.

"Isn't there some practice called…what was it?...repentance? Like, asking for forgiveness and having the sins atoned or some shit?"

_"That's what I was trying to do here! How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?*"_

"How does us trying to murder each other save us? Doesn't that just make things worse?" Naruto was outraged! He had never heard something so stupid in his life.

_"Whoever abandons the right path will be severely disciplined; whoever hates correction will die.**"_

"Whatever." Naruto scoffed. "Nothing of what you've told me makes any sense."

_"Of course it does little one! I just want to save the world! Morning by morning I will destroy all the wicked in the land, cutting off all the evildoers from the city of the Lord.***"_

"So you're going to save the world by killing off the entire human population?" Naruto was screaming into the empty room. "We are all sinners! Isn't that was that Jesus guy died for?"

_"Yes Naruto, but not even Jesus' sacrifice cannot protect against sinners who don't try."_

* * *

><p>I walked into the library and moved through the aisles, not even sure myself of what was looking for. 'Perhaps I should ask a librarian.'<p>

I moved to a large circular information desk. "Excuse me; I'm looking for information on the occult."

The woman behind the desk tapped her perfectly manicured nails on her keyboard. "This way sir." She said as she got up.

I followed her to the non-fiction section, and she stood in front of the shelf. "This and the next one over is our demonology section." She flipped her curly brown hair and left.

I glanced over some of the titles and settled on two books. "Demons & Demonology" by Rosemary Ellen Guiley, and a Necronomicon Spellbook by some guy known only as Simon.

I stopped off at a desk and opened up the first book and found a rather intriguing section on page 170.

Orders of Demons

The worst and most dangerous demons are in the fourth through sixth orders. The fourth order is that of water demons (_Acquatile_ or _Marino_), who live in lakes, seas, and rivers, where they like to cause storms and sink ships. The fifth order includes subterranean demons _(Soterranei_), who torment miners, cause earthquakes, destabilize the world, and throw stones. They are cruel and enjoy tormenting people. The _Scotteranei_ disguise themselves as servants of magicians and sorcerers (see FAMILIAR). Last and most deadly are the _Lucifogo_, who are dark and mysterious and avoid light. They will kill people in cold blood and should be avoided at all costs.

I sat back. "Lucifogo, huh? Looks like Kyuubi's been using Naruto to move while in the light. I'm going to have to get some light on Kyuubi!" I moved to the other book, looking up Yog-Sothoth. "Looks like I'm going to have to perform a ritual."

* * *

><p>Kakashi paced the length of the conference room as Iruka looked on.<p>

"I just don't understand how he got out!" Kakashi said as he tugged on his own hair.

"K-kakashi, don't you think you should sit down? So he got out, isn't that a good thing?" Iruka was truly worried about the man.

"I don't want to sit down! I want to finally catch this fucker! If Naruto is dead, then this guy is done and in the wind! I'll never find him now!"

"Well, we don't know that Naruto is dead. Let's go to the warehouse that Shikamaru mentioned; maybe this guy got a bit sloppy in his final show and we'll find some evidence." Iruka suggested.

"Maybe you're right." Kakashi sighed. He grabbed his jacket. "Alright, let's go."

* * *

><p>* Proverbs 1:22<br>** Proverbs 15:10  
>*** Psalm 101:8<p>

**I really hope that you've liked this story up to this point! I'm working on chapter 12 right now too! Please, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!**

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	12. Chapter 12

**Hey there hyper readers! I'm back, and this time with a shiny brand new computer! If you're still reading this story, I apologize for the long wait…not having a computer makes it really hard to post chapters (or even write them for that matter!)**

**Well, I hope you like the chapter! Thanks to my beta ****Tenno-Megumi****!**

**Enjoy~!**

I ran down the street and flung open the door to Naruto's house; I'd seen the address the other day while at the police station. I was immediately taken aback by how empty the place seemed. The furniture was simple, and somewhat mismatched, and there only seemed to be the bare minimum in the place.

"Hey! Who the hell are you?" A voice yelled.

My head whipped around to locate the source. I found a somewhat rough looking boy with brown hair standing in the hallway. "Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't think anyone would be here!"

"That doesn't exactly answer my question." He replied, crossing his arms.

"Sorry." I said as I scratched the back of my head. "My name is Shikamaru. I was one of the people trapped with Naruto by that serial killer."

Brown eyes widened with understanding. "Wait, does that mean Naru is ok?" The man asked hurriedly.

"I don't know." I bit my lip. I had no idea who this guy was, and how much Naruto wanted him to know.

"What do you mean you don't know? You were there right? Is he dead? Hurt? What?" The man took a few steps forward as he spoke, his voice growing with intensity.

"He was alive when I left. I'm going back for him, but I have to figure something out first." I replied hesitantly.

"What could be so important that you could leave him to die?" The man shouted at me.

He had a point. I had been wrestling with my choice ever since I left that warehouse. "Look, I don't know how much I can tell you." I confessed, deciding that confidentiality was the best route. "I don't even know who you are."

The man stopped and stood still for a moment before taking a deep breath. "I guess I can understand that. I'm just really worked about Naru missing. Those police officers said that the killer had been staying here fort the past three months! I'm Kiba by the way. Naru and I are old friends."

'Maybe he can help me!' I thought. "How much do you know about Naruto's past?"

"You mean about his adoptions? I met him in high school. I've heard some pretty weird stories from him, but I don't know if they're all true."

"Did he tell you about his 'Mommy'?" I asked hesitantly.

"You mean the one in the cult?" Kiba asked. "He told me about those creepy rituals. All I really know about her is that she died."

"Did he tell you he killed her?"

* * *

><p>Iruka drove the police cruiser to the warehouse district; every so often stealing glances at his temporary partner. He had to admit that Kakashi was a very handsome man. He also knew that this man was dealing with a lot, and really knew nothing about him.<p>

"So, Kakashi." Iruka started.

"Hmmm?" Kakashi glanced at him.

"Uh, I was just wondering about you. Y-you know, like if there is someone back home waiting for you to come back or something…" Iruka forced the words out of his mouth. 'Well, now I sound like a blubbering idiot!'

Kakashi snorted. "What, you mean like a girlfriend? Nah. The past couple years have pretty much been devoted to this case. In fact, I don't really have a home to go back to. I've been following Shadow around, living in non-contract apartments and switching cities every couple months." The agent allowed his gaze to linger on the other man in the car. The lithe body and handsome face had attracted him the moment he walked into the precinct on the first day.

"O-oh, I see." Iruka stuttered, a light pink blush dusting his face.

"What about you detective? What pretty girl is lucky enough to have you come home to her at night?" Kakashi asked; his words like velvet.

Iruka's blush deepened. "W-well, there's no girl. A-actually, I'm gay."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. This was certainly an interesting development. "Is that so? Alright then, who's the lucky guy?"

"You're not disgusted?"

The other man actually laughed out loud. It was such a pleasant sound for Iruka to hear; he'd been worried he'd lost his new friend to this case. "No, I'm not disgusted. That'd be really strange if I was, considering I'm also gay."

"R-really?" Hush Iruka! You sound too desperate! "I-I mean, that's interesting." Iruka forced himself to calm down. "Oh look, we're here!"

The cruiser was parked and Iruka practically ran out of the vehicle.

* * *

><p>Naruto sat in the dark. He'd turned off the lights, unwilling to continue to look at the dead body in the room. The dark seemed to consume him in the windowless room.<p>

"_You know, Naruto, another way to not have to look at Sasuke is to get the hell out of here."_ Kyuubi whispered harshly.

"Just shut up." Naruto was too tired to put up any more of a fight. He lay down on the floor, tucking his elbow under his head for support, and closed his eyes.

A few moments passed by quietly.

"_He's not coming back you know. That Shikamaru has too much darkness in his heart to even begin to care about you."_ Kyuubi was resorting to taunting now. He wanted to kill Naruto, but just the soul, not the physical portion!

"Well, then we'll die. That's one problem solved." Naruto said nonchalantly. He was trying to play this off, but truth be told, after finding out about Shikamaru's father Naruto was leery about seeing the man again. 'There's no way Shika killed his father, right? Right? Oh God…'

* * *

><p>Popping the trunk open, Iruka pulled out a crowbar and headed for the door of the warehouse.<p>

"Wait." Kakashi said as he followed the other man. "You just carry that around in the cruiser?"

Iruka smiled behind him. "Small town crime consists mostly of breaking and entering and teenagers locking themselves in their rooms. You'd be surprised how many times a day this comes in handy!"

The pair reached the door and used the crowbar to wrench it open with a large bang. "Here goes nothing." Kakashi whispered.

CRASH!

"What was that?" Naruto whispered. "Is Shikamaru already back?" He stood shakily. "Did he find some way to get rid of Kyuubi?"

He took off towards the path between the two main rooms. "SHIKA!" he called. "You came back!"

He pushed open the bathroom door to find the city's head police detective and a strange man staring at him with guns raised.

"Freeze!" shouted the strange man. "I am Special Agent Kakashi Hatake. State you're name!"

"Naruto?" Iruka called softly. "Oh God! You're ok!"

Blue eyes widened in shock. "No!" Naruto slowly began to back up, drawing a knife out of his pocket and holding it to his throat. "You can't take me out of here!"

"Son, put the knife down!" Kakashi called lowering his gun and taking a tentative step towards the frightened young man. "This is not what you want to do! You're safe now. You're safe with us."

"B-but _you're_ not safe with _me_!" he countered, applying more pressure against his throat.

"What are you talking about?" Iruka asked. "Naruto, everything is fine! Shikamaru is safe, and now you are too! But we have to get out of here quickly before the killer comes back!"

"I'm sorry, before who gets here?" A deep voice asked.

Kakashi looked all around for the source. "Shadow." He whispered. "SHOW YOURSELF!"

A deep laughter erupted from the blonde, and his once blue eyes had turned a deadly red. "Well Agent Hatake, it seems like you've found me at last. Congratulations!" Kyuubi dropped the knife and started slowly clapping for the man. "I propose a toast, but alas, we have nothing to drink in this dank place. Why don't we leave and find something?"

"You're not going anywhere Shadow!" Kakashi yelled. He raised his gun, "I've been after you for two fucking years, I'm not about to let you get away now!" The FBI agent was visibly shaking in anger.

"Naruto? What's going on?" Iruka asked quietly behind Kakashi.

Red eyes snapped to the detective. "Oh, Naruto's no longer here." He began slowly striding towards the two men. "If you must know, my true name is Kyuubi, but titles have little meaning to beings such as me."

BANG! A gunshot rang out.

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	13. Chapter 13

**Hey everyone! Sorry that it took so long for me to update! Trying to get back in the groove of writing is becoming a difficult task for me…**

**But I finally finished, so without further ado, here is chapter 13!**

**Thanks for the return of my amazing beta: Kaiji Maeda Sama! I've missed you my old friend!**

**Beta's Note: I AM SO F***ING HAPPY THAT YOU ARE BACK! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!**

**Enjoy~!**

"Now, now, now Agent Hatake, that wasn't very nice." Kyuubi's red eyes glowed with mirth as he looked at the shaking gun in Kakashi's hands. The same moment that Kakashi had fired, Kyuubi sidestepped, making the bullet miss him completely. "I think I may have to teach you some manners." A light smile played on Kyuubi's lips.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Iruka asked nervously.

"Exactly what you think it does my dear detective." Kyuubi smiled and the door behind the two officers slammed shut.

Kakashi and Iruka both whipped around at the loud bang. "Shit!" Kakashi yelled as he ran to the door and started pulling at the handle. "Locked."

"What now?" asked Iruka.

* * *

><p>"Kyuubi, I don't know what you…had…" as Kakashi spoke, he slowly turned around to find the man gone from the room. "…planned-where the hell did he go?"<p>

Kyuubi slammed the door shut behind him, jamming the lock quickly as he chuckled to himself. _'Mortals are so slow!'_

He turned around slowly patting his clothes to get the dust off. _"Damn, I could really do with a shower. I guess I'll go back to Naruto's ho-"_

Everything went dark.

* * *

><p>Iruka was starting to panic now. "What the hell are we going to do Kakashi? How are we going to get out of here?"<p>

"Just calm down. Shikamaru found a way out, and so will we!" Kakashi wrapped his arms around the brunette, trying to stop him from shaking. "Don't worry, everything will be ok."

The smaller man huddled against the federal agent. "Things like this never happen in small towns like this, that's why I came here! I'm so scared Kakashi."

Kakashi grabbed the other's chin, making Iruka's eyes meet his own. "Don't be. I will protect you. We will get out of here, no matter what!"

Iruaka's tear-filled eyes closed as he leaned upwards, connecting their lips. "I trust you." He whispered as he pulled away.

* * *

><p>Shikamaru stepped out of the shadows towards Naruto's unconscious body, metal bat still in hand. "I'm so sorry, but I had to do it." He whispered.<p>

"Alright Kiba! Come over here! I found him!" Shikamaru called.

Kiba came running from somewhere around the building. "Jesus man, you didn't have to hit him so hard!"

"I don't think you've fully grasped how strong Kyuubi is yet." Shikamaru responded through gritted teeth.

Kiba chuckled to himself. "Whatever man." He bent down and grabbed Naruto's ankles. "Let's just get him in the car before he wakes up with a massive headache."

Shikamaru dropped the bat and hoisted Naruto up by his shoulders and helped Kiba get the blonde into the backseat of their car. "Alright, now we just have to find a place to do this."

"What? You mean the ritual? Oh yeah, I'm sure there are hundreds of places to do that around here." Kiba rolled his eyes. "I'm still not even sure if you're right about all this stuff, or you're just insane. For all I know, Naruto has no demon, and you're the psychopathic killer everyone is after!"

Shikamaru stopped for a moment, his breath even silent. "What would make you think I killed anyone?"

Kiba raised an eyebrow. "I guess nothing really, but you do always hear on the news that that murderer next door 'always seemed like such a normal guy!'"

"Just shut up." Shikamaru bit.

"Whoa, touchy subject." Kiba raised his hands in defense. "Don't cut off my head man!"

"Just get in the damn car. We don't have much time until he wakes up." Shikamaru snapped as he opened the driver side door.

"Fine." Kiba got into the passenger's seat. "Now where?"

"We're headed to the fields."

* * *

><p>Kakashi looked around the large room, two dead bodies marring the sight of the floor. "Well, we came here to inspect the scene, we might as well do that now."<p>

"How?" Iruka asked, moving to the body of Sakura in the corner. "We left our stuff in the car!"

"Doesn't mean we can't do a walkthrough." Kakashi said, trying to keep the panic out of his own head. "If I remember correctly, Shikamaru said there was a passage in one of the bathrooms."

"That's right, we need to find the other bodies." Iruka replied, heading for the men's bathroom. "I think this is it!" The brunette pushed the panel open to revel a dark tunnel.

"Good work!" Kakashi pulled out a flashlight from a pocket in his jacket and moved through the door. "This tunnel it a bit creepy. Can you imagine them moving through this without any light?"

Iruka shivered and pulled closer to Kakashi. "No, and I don't want to think about it either."

The door at the end of the tunnel was still open, letting some light spill into the tunnel, and allowing the two men to see the crushed skull of Sai.

"Uugg." Kakashi groaned, covering his mouth. "How horrible."

Iruka gasped and stepped towards the dead body. "We have to get out of here so he can't hurt anyone else!"

"I know, but how?" Kakashi looked up, scanning the room. "Hey, what's that?" A small white box laid on the floor across the room. Kakashi took tentative steps towards it, pulled on a pair of rubber gloves from his pocket and picked it up. "It's a remote!"

"A remote?" Iruka stood and moved next to Kakashi.

"Yeah, I wonder if this is how Shadow controlled everything." Kakashi scanned through the buttons to find one labeled 'Detectives'. "Hey, I'm going to press this, so be on guard."

Iruka nodded as Kakashi pressed it. The lights went out and a white square appeared on the far wall. A man in a white mask and a fedora came into view. "Shadow" growled Kakashi.

"Agent Hatake, Detective Umino, how nice to see you both here! I should give you some credit; anyone else probably would have given up ages ago! But not you two – my work has consumed you too much. I've got you obsessing over me! And how could you not?" The man removed his mask and hat. "I mean look at me! I'm fucking adorable…much to my disgust. You wouldn't be the first to obsess you know. This poor kid has had some pretty rough times. But I'm here now, I'm here to end all that pain for him. Once I have full control – once Naruto has broken – I can stop all the pain of the world! All in the name of God! For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it*!"

The man in the video sighed.

"I guess this is goodbye gentlemen. I'm sorry it had to end this way; I truly have enjoyed our game of cat and mouse. But I have won. Have fun…"

***Hebrews 12:11**

**Well, there we go! Kyuubi isn't done yet! What will happen next? Are you all still even enjoying the story? Let me know what you think? As always, ideas are greatly appreciated!**

**It's good to be back everyone! I've missed you all!**

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	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry this took so long, ended up in the hospital…I'm fine now, and I'm back to my computer! (finally)**

**Thanks to my incredible beta: Kaiji Maeda Sama**

**Beta's Note: I am extremely glad that you are back and that you are okay, in a sense. I would have hated to lose such a great friend.**

**Enjoy~!**

"Hurry up with the damn candles Kiba!" Called a voice.

_'Damn, that voice sounds familiar.'_ Kyuubi slowly tried to open his eyes. _'SHIT! My head feels like it has been split in half!'_

"I'm trying man, but there's too much wind! I can't get them to light!" Shouted a second voice.

"Would you stop shouting?" Groaned Kyuubi. "My head is killing me!"

Suddenly, a weight compressed his chest, and a knife was pushed against his throat. "You give us back Naruto!" This was the first voice.

Kyuubi snapped open his red eyes to find Shikamaru sitting on him. "Who the fuck are you to threaten me?" He snapped.

"Bring him back!" Shikamaru was practically screaming at this point.

Kyuubi tried to move his arm to find he couldn't. "What the fuck?" Turning his head he found his arms bound by ropes that were tethered to spikes in the ground. "What did you do to me?"

"BRING BACK NARUTO!" The knife cut the skin on Kyuubi's throat slightly.

"Fine. If it will make you stop screaming at me! My head is fucking pounding!"

Blood red eyes turned instantly blue. "Shi-shikamaru? What's going on? Why am I tied down? Why does my head hurt? Why do you have a knife?" Panic set into Naruto's chest.

"Calm down." Shikamaru cooed, moving the knife away. "We've figured out how to get the Kyuubi subdued, if not out of you completely! You're going to have to trust me, ok?"

Naruto eyed the man above him tentatively, he may not agree with Kyuubi's methods, but that didn't mean everything he said was a lie…

"Um…ok, I guess" Naruto muttered.

"First of all" Shikamaru said, getting off Naruto and moving to a nearby pulpit and grabbing something off of it. "You will need to wear this. It's an amulet made of corundum! It's supposed to steady your mind."

"How do you know that?" Naruto asked, suspicious of the man.

"Kiba and I went to an occult wares store in preparation of this ritual. It was…not a pretty place to put it kindly." Shikamaru shivered at the memory. "Speaking of which," Shikamaru looked over his shoulder, "Be sure to get the right incenses in the thuribles Kiba!"

"Yeah, yeah, I've got you're fucking list right here. I still don't like this man." Kiba grumbled as he lit some Storax in the thurible by Naruto's head. "I just feel like we're messing with things people aren't meant to mess with."

"I know Kiba, but it has to be done." Shikamaru said cooly as he lifted Naruto's head and put the necklace on him. "Alright, let's check everything before we start."

"Fine, this one by Naruto's head is facing north and has Storax burning. The one to the east has Galbanum; west has Olibanum; south has Myrrh. Is that right?"

Shikamaru went down his list, checking things off as Kiba spoke. "Yes. Where is the pentacle?"

"On the pulpit with a black candle burning on it, just like you asked." Kiba grumbled.

"Alright, I think we're ready!" Shikamaru stepped back, pulling a book out and reading from it:

_Magick, magick, everywhere_

_In the Earth and in the Air_

_Magick seals our Circle round_

_Between the worlds it shall be bound!_

_Three times around, three times about_

_A world within, a world without!_

Shikamaru waved his arm in a circle three times as he spoke. Then he moved to stand in front of the north thurible. He extended his arms in diagonals by his sides. "Magick of the north, I invoke thee." He shouted. Moving to the east he spread his arms above his head. "Magick of the east, I invoke thee." In the south he adjoined his hands above his head. "Magick of the south, I invoke thee." And finally, to the west, Shikamaru adjoins his hands in front of his stomach and says, "Magick of the west, I invoke thee."

The wind howled as if coming from all directions, making Naruto shiver. Kiba stared on, not entirely sure what was going on.

Shikamaru called out from the pulpit.

_Powers of Magick_

_My plea you shall hear;_

_Exercise this demon_

_And make Kyuubi appear!"_

Suddenly an alien roar came from Naruto's throat. An orange glow slowly gathered above the blonde's body, taking the form of a large fox. "What the hell?" the image growled. "You fucker, I knew you would be trouble." The Kyuubi form thrust a translucent finger at the brunette, but Shikamaru did not flinch, instead he called out once again.

_Bind this being_

_Bind him well_

_Send him straight_

_BACK TO HELL!_

The Kyuubi form roared in pain. "No!" he screamed as a black void opened from the sky, pulling the orange glow towards it. "You have not seen the last of me you fuckers! I will have my revenge!"

Kiba quickly raced over to the pulpit as Shikamaru had requested and replaced the black candle with a pure white one. Using the black candle, he steadily lit the white. Shikamaru's voice once again filled the night.

_Candle burning in the night,_

_With your flame enchanted;_

_By the power of your light_

_May my wish be granted!_

_Purify with wounderous soul_

_In this white light._

_Let him live in Kindness forever_

_Banish his sins from sight!_

_Circle of Magick; Circle of Art-_

_The rite is ended ; now we part._

_This Circle drawn between the worlds_

_Begone! as Time and Space unfurls…_

The whipping winds became suddenly quiet.

**Hey guys, sorry if this isn't very good…I've been trying to search for just the right ritual for this sort of thing, when I first started this story, I never realized just how far it would go!**

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	15. Chapter 15

**Once again, I am sorry about this delay….I really need to get better time management skills – it's just been really hard to get back into the swing of things after so many setbacks in a row!**

**I hope you like this!**

**Thanks to my beta: Kaiji Maeda Sama!**

**Enjoy!**

"Kakashi, what does he mean it will end this way?" Panic had settled into chocolate eyes, a sight that unsettled Kakashi.

"Iruka, I think he means for us to die here. He seems to think he has won, but he hasn't. Don't worry. People know we are here; they'll let us out!"

Iruka sighed and leaned against the taller agent. "You're right Kakashi."

Kakashi wrapped his arms around the brunette. "All we have to do is wait. You'll see, everything will be fi-" Suddenly Kakashi started coughing violently.

"K-kakashi? What's wro-?" Iruka too was succumbing to violent fits of coughing. "What's going on?" he wheezed.

A slight haze filtered through the air. "Fuck." Kakashi swore under his breath. "Smells like cyanide gas."

* * *

><p>Naruto opened his eyes slowly. "Wha-what happened?" he groaned. His body felt weak.<p>

"Dude, I have no clue."

Naruto slowly looked to the side to see Kiba sitting just outside the ritual circle, his mouth agape as he stared into the night sky.

"Naruto! Are you ok?" Shikamaru rushed over and started unbinding the man on the ground.

Naruto rubbed his wrists as he sat up. "Y-yeah, I think so. Shikamaru? What happened?"

"I think we did it! We got rid of your Kyuubi!" Shikamaru exclaimed, pulling the blonde to his chest.

"Wh-what?" Naruto looked shocked an confused.

"Kyuubi is gone dude!" Kiba interjected. "I don't really understand how, but that demon-thing is gone!"

Naruto looked at the ground, reveling in how it felt to finally be free. No more pious prick talking in the back of his mind; telling him all the wrong he was doing and how he was to burn in hell for his sins. "Thank God…"

* * *

><p>Kakashi and Iruka laid on the floor of the warehouse, feeling their strength fading.<p>

"Ka-kashi?" Iruka coughed.

The agent opened one eye. "Yeah?"

"Is this really the end? God, there's so many things I never got to do!" Iruka groaned as he rolled onto his side to face the other. "So much I was too afraid to admit."

"Like what?" Kakashi was curious now.

"Well, I honestly wanted to get to know you better. You're such an attractive man. I knew that you would never find interest in someone like me, but I still held on to the smallest shred of hope that you would ask me to dinner." Iruka coughed some more. "But now…now it will nev-"

A mumbled voice shouted from outside. "CLEAR!"

BOOM! The door was blown open and Iruka's officers stood outside. "Sir!" one of them called. "Are you ok?"

Officers rushed in and helped the two detectives out of the warehouse, sitting them outside in the back of an ambulance with glasses of water and a pill to negate the cyanide.

Kakashi chuckled. "So, Iruka. You still interested in dinner?"

Hopeful brown eyes shifted to the slightly taller man. "R-really?"

Kakashi pulled his mask down and leaned in to the other. "Yes really." Shivers went down both their backs as their lips touched.

Iruka whispered as they pulled away from each other slowly. "I'd love to."

* * *

><p>Kiba slowly opened the door to Naruto's home as Shikamaru led the blonde inside to the living room.<p>

"I'm going to go and make some coffee." Kiba called as he headed into the kitchen.

Shikamaru helped Naruto get settled on the couch and then took a seat next to him. "I'm so glad I could help with this whole Kyuubi thing. I was so worried that I was going to lose you." He confessed.

Naruto grunted.

"I'm just happy you're ok." Shikamaru turned and attempted to wrap his arms around the blonde, only to find the man flinching away from him. Shikamaru looked confused. "What's wrong?"

Naruto sighed. "Well, it's….it's nothing."

"It's obviously not nothing, you're flinching!" Concern laced brown eyes looked Naruto.

"While you were gone and I was still in the warehouse, Kyuubi started talking to me. He told me things…things about you." Naruto confessed.

"About me?" Shikamaru questioned. "Like what?"

"He told me about your father." Naruto's eyes were connected with the floor as he spoke, afraid of how the other would react.

Shikamaru's fists clenched as he ground his teeth together. "What about my father?" His voice was tight through the clamped jaw.

"Kyuubi said you killed him."

"And you believed him?" Shikamaru yelled.

"I don't really know what to believe anymore." Naruto kept looking at the ground, tears threatening to spill.

Shikamaru's body relaxed as he dropped to his knees on the floor and cupped the blonde's face. "Look, Naruto. I didn't kill my father. Kyuubi was a demon, and he was trying to put doubt into your mind. He was trying to break you so he could take control completely. You can't believe anything he said to you."

"But-" Naruto's retort was cut off by a soft pair of lips on his own.

"You need to believe what's in your heart." Shikamaru said gently. "What does your heart tell you?"

"It's…it's telling me to give you a chance." Naruto whispered.

Shikamaru smiled as he pulled his blonde into a tender embrace, kissing him once more.

"_For it is through grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift from God – not by works, so no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9_

The End

**Well, what did you think? (And before you say it, I know it was a bit rushed) Just so you are aware, I am pondering a sequel – let me know if that is something you would be interesting in reading!- if I decide not to do that, there will be a bonus epilogue sometime in the future with a nice graphic lemon involved, otherwise it will be saved for the sequel...  
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